Your plumbing

If it's a simple problem, you can avoid waiting for a plumber with these fixes.

• Where's my stopcock?

  You can usually find it where the water supply enters your home, you can test if it's working by turning it off and running the cold tap in the kitchen. The tap should stop running almost immediately. 

  If you think you've got a burst pipe or a leak, then report it to us. 

  

• How do I turn off just one tap, or just the toilet?

  Each item that uses water, should have an isolator valve on the pipe to it. Isolators look like the below. If you have a problem, you can stop the supply by turning them so the slot runs across the direction of the pipe. 

  

• How do I avoid frozen pipes and burst pipes?

  To avoid your internal pipes freezing, do the following:

  • In very cold weather, try to keep some heating on at all times. 
  • Look in your loft to check if pipes and tanks are lagged (covered). If they aren’t, please tell us.
  • If there are pipes in the loft, you might want to open the hatch to allow some warmth to circulate in there.
  • If you go on holiday or leave your home for a long period during the winter, make sure the heating is on for some of each day, even if it’s only for half an hour.
• What to do if pipes are frozen
  • Turn off the stopcock (see above for how to do this).
  • Direct some heat onto the pipe (a hairdryer is ideal).
  • If you can’t thaw out the pipe, keep the stopcock turned off unless you need water – this will stop you being flooded if the pipes thaw suddenly and burst.
  • It's dangerous to use your central heating boiler, water heater, back boiler or immersion heater without water. If the hot-water tank is not filling up, or no hot water is coming through the hot taps, it's essential you turn off these systems.
  • Be prepared for the pipe to thaw – have a bucket or bowl ready to collect any water if the pipe has burst.
  • It can take a long time for pipes to thaw out. You can use isolation valves (see below) to shut off the water supply to individual outlets – for example the cistern, taps, bath or basin – while keeping a supply to the rest of your home. But this depends on which pipe has frozen. 
• How to thaw a frozen condensate pipe

  Combination boilers, or combi boilers, create condensation as a waste product. This condensation is taken away from the boiler through the condensate waste pipe or condensation pipe.

  Extremely cold weather conditions can cause these pipes to freeze as the pipe usually leads from the boiler, through the wall to the outside of the building. Where the pipe meets the outside of the building is usually where it freezes.

  How can I fix this issue?

  If this happens you can easily fix this issue by thawing the frozen pipe with a hot water bottle or heat wrap that can be applied to the frozen area and allowed to defrost over time.

   

  You can also pour warm water over the frozen part of the pipe can be more effective.

  Once the pipe is thawed, you can reset your boiler and this should solve the issue.

  Please take care if using hot water to thaw your condensation pipe – you should not use boiling water as this can be dangerous.

  If your condensing pipe is above ground level, give us a call and well come to fix the issue.

  Video on thawing a condensate pipe

• How do I unblock a sink?

  Before we start unblocking the sink, it’s important not to use any sink unblocker or chemicals as these can be harmful to your skin or eyes if spilled.

  Check to see if sinks in any other room are blocked. If you do, this could be a bigger issue, so give us a call.

  If it’s just the one sink that's blocked, follow these next steps.

  1. Using something like a jug, remove as much water as possible from the sink.
  2. If you have a plunger, use this to try and move the blockage. Covering the overflow of the sink with your hand will help to create an air-tight seal. This can sometimes be enough to fix the problem.
  3. If that doesn’t work, place a bowl under the sink to catch any spills whilst unscrewing the sink’s U-Bend with your hand, this is most likely where the blockage will be.
  4. Keep the U-bend upright and remove its contents into another bowl or container.
  5. Once this piece of pipe is unblocked, reattach it to the sink and screw back in place. The pipe will have two rubber O-rings inside, make sure these are in place when reattaching the pipe.
  6. This should do the trick and your sink should be unblocked.

   

  If following these steps don't help to clear the blockage and you’re still having issues, report it using Connect.